Night Stage and Dreams in Nightmares announced as closing night and special presentation films at BFI Flare

Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon’s erotic thriller Night Stage will be the Closing Night Gala of the 39th edition of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival (19 to 30 March), with Shatara Michelle Ford’s road trip movie Dreams in Nightmares screening as a Special Presentation. The UK premieres of Dreams in Nightmares, on 23 March, and Night Stage, on 29 March, will take place at BFI Southbank and filmmakers are expected to be in attendance.

From multi award-winning writer-directors Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, Night Stage is the thrilling tale of an actor and a politician who begin a secret affair and discover they both have a fetish for having sex in public places. However, the closer they get to their dream of fame, the more they feel the urge to put themselves at risk. The filmmakers’ second feature Hard Paint received the Teddy Award for Best Film and the C.I.C.A.E. Jury Award for Best Panorama Film at Berlin International Film Festival 2018. The BFI Flare Closing Night Gala follows the world premiere of Night Stage at Berlinale 2025.

“We are very excited for Night Stage to be featured as the closing film of BFI Flare, a festival that so warmly screened our previous film, Hard Paint” , said Matzembacher and Reolon. “This will be one of the first screenings after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and we can’t wait to see the festival audience’s reaction to this journey of desire and danger.”

Night Stage is produced by Jéssica Luz and Paola Wink alongside Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon.

The second feature from award-winning writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford, Dreams in Nightmares, follows three Black queer femmes in their mid 30s as they take a road trip across the Midwestern United States in search of their friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid. An exploration of identity, Dreams in Nightmares stars Denée Benton (Unreal, The Gilded Age) and Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll). Ford’s first feature Test Pattern received the New Generation Award at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival. The BFI Flare Special Presentation of Dreams in Nightmares follows its world premiere at Philadelphia’s BlackStar Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival 2025.

“This is a major homecoming of sorts, as I came of age as a filmmaker in London, and the BFI holds a special place in my heart”, said Ford. “It is where my unformed baby queer self spent the majority of my 20s; taking in all that BFI had to offer. This presentation is most fitting and I’m beyond thrilled to be sharing Dreams in Nightmares at BFI Flare.”

Dreams in Nightmares is produced by Shatara Michelle Ford, Pin-Chun Liu, Naima Abed, Josh Peters, Robina Riccitiello, Ben Stillman, Ana Leocha, Adam Wyatt Tate, Chris Quintos-Cathcart and Tyler Bagley.

The BFI Flare 2025 programming team are Grace Barber-Plentie, Diana Cipriano, Zorian Clayton, Jaye Hudson, Rhianna Ilube, Darren Jones and Wema Mumma.

“Reuniting with friends and making new connections is central to the festival experience so we’re delighted that Shatara Michelle Ford will be joining us for the first time for the 2025 Special Presentation screening of Dreams in Nightmares” , BFI FLARE programmers said. “And following the success of their film Hard Paint, we’re honoured to have Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon return to Flare to officially close our 2025 festival with their latest film Night Stage.”

The full programme for BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival will be revealed on Tuesday 18 February at 11am.